Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

After sitting down all day at work and looking at a computer, sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation to write a blog post. My brain doesn’t want to focus anymore, and it’s even harder when the weather is beautiful and I can hear little puppies playing outside. Fortunately, in this case, I don’t have to say much because the recipe is pretty straightforward.

As evident by the ingredient list below, these cheesecakes are very simple. Unlike a full-sized cheesecake, which can be a bit overwhelming, mini cheesecakes come together incredibly fast and you don’t have to worry about the top cracking or putting it in a water bath.

There are two options for the crust: graham cracker and vanilla wafer. The graham cracker crust contains two ingredients – pretty easy right? But the vanilla wafer crust is even simpler – just put a vanilla wafer in the cupcake liner!

Make sure to not over fill the cupcake liners -- only fill about 2/3 way full. When you pull the cheesecakes out of the oven post-baking they will begin to sink in the middle almost immediately. But that’s okay!  The sunken center is a good cavity to hold your homemade blueberry sauce! Because what's cheesecake without blueberry sauce?!

The perfect cheesecake blueberry sauce is the same blueberry sauce I use with pancakes and ice cream. It's very easy to make and you can use fresh or frozen blueberries!

And of course, I only use Challenge cream cheese and butter in the recipe. Challenge dairy is fairly new to Indiana, and I'm so glad I discovered it. Their products are hormone free and made with real cream.  You can really taste the difference! Before baking with Challenge, I just bought whatever was on sale. But after tasting the difference and the quality, I won't bake with any other brand!

Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

Yield: Makes about 16 mini cheesecakes

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 3 Tablespoons Challenge butter, melted

OR

• 16 Vanilla Wafer cookies

For the cheesecake

• 2 packages Challenge cream cheese
• 3/4 cup white sugar (151 grams)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

For the blueberry sauce

• 1/2 cup sugar (100 grams)
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

For the crust

1. Preheat your oven to 340 degrees Fahrenheit. Put liners in cupcake pan; set aside.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Distribute evenly amongst liners and press down.
3. Or if you plan to use vanilla wafers, place one wafer face-up inside each of the liners.

For the cheesecake

1. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
2. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
3. Scoop cheesecake batter into cupcake liners 2/3 full.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature before transferring to refrigerator.

For the blueberry sauce

1. Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan.
2. Stir in water and add blueberries.
3. Place saucepan on stove-top and set burner heat on medium high.
4. Bring mixture to boil and let simmer for 3 minutes.
5. Remove sauce from heat.
6. Add spoonful to top of each cheesecake and serve.